Rahul Kapoor

Entrepreneur and a Social Activist

It requires something extraordinary to shake-off human inertia and inspire something new. Even when struck by a brilliant idea, some give up after initial excitement while some continue with the momentum, scale up and change life's gear for ultimate fulfillment. Rahul Kapoor is one of them. He saw the brutality of life's misadventures and felt deep anguish with the loss of his father at an early age. What spurred him on was the remembrance of the loss, his misdoings had on him and his family. He was captivated with the thought that 'no other individual should suffer a similar loss like me'. This realization served as a springboard for Rahul to excel academically and went on to help several many youngsters Rahul touched through counseling, career guidance and motivational sessions. Having been a part of a traditional business family, Rahul could have chosen to hold the reigns of the family business after his father's death but the mantle of creating a bigger ripple for society spurred him on and he gravitated to become a trainer and inspire thousands. The spark of helping others had only gotten brighter and he wanted to use this platform to reach out to the people in the corporate world through his training. When it made lucrative sense to continue as a trainer in the corporate world, he was ignited with the passion to inspire the youth of India through various initiatives and empower women.

Career Ventures

As a successful entrepreneur and a social activist, Rahul Kapoor started various entities. In November 1998, at the age of 22, Rahul began his career with the inception of his first venture, Kapoor's Workshop on Effective Communication (KWEC) while pursuing his Post Graduation. KWEC offers programs on behavioral skills, team building and other tailor made solutions to corporate clients and it was commissioned with a primary mission of delivering quality personal improvement and skill training to the juniors of his alma mater. With his penchant for training and alacrity, he was an instant success influencing over 100 students to participate in the first three workshops. Impressed by his work, the Times of India recognized him by featuring him in a column called “The Rising Sun”. Since then Rahul has trained over 85,000 people from all walks of life and has worked with over 100 organizations. He is a visiting faculty at Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB). In 2003 he started eM Play International which provides TV game shows, audience polling and quizzing solutions. When India was en route to establishing itself as a global information technology powerhouse, Rahul with First Ray, a Malaysian avant garde gaming Technology Company pioneered to bring to India hi-end quizzing and gaming techniques. His second venture First Ray India was later re-christened eM Play International and brought to corporate and various other audiences an engaging format of quizzing. With its superior technology, eM Play was successful in unleashing into the Indian market a plethora of software and hardware interactive solutions using SMS, Bluetooth, Touch Screen, Wireless LAN, Radio Frequency Keypads, Internet and Intranet quiz techniques. In 2004, Rahul sensed an opportunity to expand the quizzing market and tied up with International Quizzing Association, UK and brought to India the World Quizzing Championship. This elevated many of India's great minds to share common stage with the best from 16 nations through perhaps the toughest written rounds challenge.
Yet another entity was started by him in 2005, named Mindz Productionz Pvt Ltd. which provides event management services. The traction in the event management industry in India made Rahul launch this venture. The company would tie up well with his existing plans of providing enriching training and self-improvement to corporates and simultaneously also deliver high-end event management solutions to his clientele. The company fulfilled the increasing need for professional management of events. However, his creativity and knack of looking for opportunities made him spot the sun rise segment of pre-wedding parties. He has been credited with bringing in immense professionalism in the wide and cash-rich segment of Indian weddings, but most importantly he helped establish wedding celebrations as a brand new Business segment. This paved the way for many new entrants to venture into and capitalize on. Dr. Abdul Kalam's book India 2020 on transforming India into a developed nation by 2020, realigned Rahul's aspirations and he was inspired to contribute seriously to nation-building. So in 2007, Ignite India Initiative was started which is a registered charitable trust, founded by the inspiration and blessings of the Former President of India H. H. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Its mission is to conceptualize, develop and execute nation building projects for the youth in India. To make India 2020 a reality, Rahul took a plunge into social projects and identified personal improvement training among school and college students as imperative to sensitize them towards the needs of the country. He conceptualized the 'Ignite India Initiative' to train, motivate and inspire young Indians on Goal Setting and Motivation Skills- 'Get IGNITED'. Get IGNITED is, a seven step success program with an impetus to transform the youth of the country into self-driven and self-reliant individuals who passionately contribute to make India a progressive nation. Rahul launched this initiative under the aegis of the former President of India Dr. APJ. Abdul Kalam himself. Started with an intention of igniting five lakh students, the operations were set up in Bangalore and Chennai and have reached many students through schools in Bangalore, Tumkur and Salem. These are free programs and no fee is collected either from students or institutions.In 2008

was founded Jain Youth Leadership Forum which is an initiative that gives Jainsters aged 16-29 years a greater understanding of their roles as global Jain ambassadors while analyzing concepts surrounding Jainism, Leadership, Community Development and Nation Building. He also has passion for speaking and through his speeches he has transformed 80,000 people from various backgrounds. He has conducted over 2,000 sessions for more than 150 clients including over 50 'Fortune 500 Companies'. His sessions have been conducted in 9 countries like Australia, UAE, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand. He was the Guest faculty at Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore (one of the top 25 B-schools in the world). He has also been a TEDx Speaker. In June 2010, Times Group Books launched Rahul's first book 'Work Wise-Lessons in Excellence for Young Professionals', a collection of 75 inspiring articles of Rahul previously published under the column 'Work Wise' in the Education Times, a weekly supplement of The Times of India. Rahul has penned his personal experiences as a trainer and as a human being, on a delectable range of subjects from career, entrepreneurship, money, business, health, relationships, work-life balance and patriotism. The first editions of 2000 copies were a sell-out. These books are sold for a nominal cost in all interventions in institutes and corporate. The proceeds from these are directed towards charitable causes like sponsoring education of rural children. He also wrote a fortnightly column called “Work Wise” for Education Times supplement of The Times of India from 2002 to 2011. He is also a certified trainer for Edward De Bono's 6 Thinking Hats, USA as well as a certified consultant of Thomas Systems, UK. He is also the recipient of several awards. His has received Outstanding Young Persons of India Award in 2010, conferred by Junior Chamber International. He has also received award for Excellence 2013 which was conferred by Jain International Trade Organization. He has also won a Distinguished Alumnus Award 2013 by Seshadripuram College, Bangalore University. He was also the Official host for Royal Challengers Bangalore for DLF IPL 3, 4 and 5. Service to humanity is something which is there in the DNA of most Jains. He is a true devotee of Jain Values and lives by the diktat of 'Parosparagrah Jeevanam', that is 'mutual assistance is life'. The access to this organized and focused community was readily available. It required a catalyst to connect and build on the values. Rahul filled this privileged position with honor and dignity. He has also contributed immensely to Jain community. Through Jain Youth Leadership Forum (JYLF), he has impacted over 10,000 Jainsters across India in less than 3 years. JYLF provides Jainsters (Jain + Youngsters) aged 16-29 years a greater understanding of their roles as global Jain ambassadors while analyzing concepts surrounding Non-violence, Leadership, Community Development and Nation Building. JYLF is also working as a catalyst with other organizations that want to initiate youth engagement activities. JYLF has conducted various sessions. For season 1 interview was conducted and 100 Jainsters were selected to attend a fully sponsored two days retreat on Ideologies of Ahimsa and Non-violence, Entrepreneurship and Leadership. JYLF created project teams to serve the society in the following areas: Free pick and drop from home to temple and back for senior citizens, promoting compassionate food, channelizing waste food from marriages to orphanages and slums, green initiative through plantation projects, clothes for poor among others. JYLF season 2 conducted fully sponsored one day workshop on JYLF objectives which was attended by over 800 delegates. He has the unique privilege of being invited by all four sects of the Jain Community – (Mandir Margis, Terapantis, Sthanakvasis and Digambars) to deliver programs based on Jain philosophies and value systems. He has also contributed to empower women though various programs like 'Astitva' which was perhaps the world's first program exclusively designed for housewives. Apart from this he has also conducted spoken English workshops and other self development initiatives. Jain International Youth Organization (JIYO) was conceptualized and launched by him as first global conference in Bangalore and over 7,000 people from all over the world attended the event. The Jain Milan at Dharmasthala conducted a session in Kannada for 500 Digmabar Jainsters who came from all over Karnataka for a motivational session wherein he addressed over 5000 participants on importance of work-life-charity balance. He also launched Shradha Youth Forum at Mysore. Over 350 people attended a day long program on personal development based on teachings of Lord Mahaveer. 30 Jainsters formed Shradha who later also conducted a blood donation camp as a Guru Dakshina. His session on South India Zone Conference of Samata Group motivated 500 people from Sthanak on Relevance of Guru to attain peace and harmony. Similarly, Mahaveer Janma Kalyanak Celebration at Surat addressed 10,000 people at the Indoor Stadium on love and respect for parents based on the life of Lord Mahaveer. He also conducted host of sessions for promoting inter-faith understanding among people particularly the youth at the following places: Sri Satya Sai University, Jain Social Group, Jain Yuva Milan, Shree Jin Kushalsuri Dadawadi Trust, Shree Terapant Samaj among others.

Astitva

In Sept 2010, Rahul launched a first-in-the-world exclusive training concept for house-wives called Astitva with a vision to uplift the women folk and provide them with an opportunity to improve the quality of their lives. This program is completely based on enhancing relationships with self and others to retain self-peace and contentment for a life of endless possibilities. Rahul believes that this initiative is his biggest achievement ever and has set his eye on taking this program across the nation in the coming years. Over 500 women attended the Free Workshops and 180 women were empowered through a 5 day Workshop. Close to 150 families participated in a open workshop titled 'Celebrating Life' as the course fee has been phenomenally subsidized by roping in sponsors In the past he has also been credited with organizing exclusive programs on Spoken English for housewives and so far three batches have been successfully executed benefitting over 50 women.

Other social activities

He has conducted host of other activities like AIDS awareness drives, anti- smoking campaign, go green initiatives. He has also been hosting events that provide scholarships for further education. He has also been invited as a keynote speaker at various community programs and is motivating youth to get involved in charitable work through his unique 'Guru Dakshina' concept. What makes an individual humane are THOUGHT, COMMITMENT, and SENSITIVITY towards people around them. Ultimately what spurs a human to act is the INFLUENCE one can wield on people. While many realize this very few ultimately act. What decides success is the level of commitment. All along, Rahul has kept the commitment to himself above his work. His strong belief that one can run businesses and simultaneously contribute to society and that one does not have to wait until 40s to begin charitable work has resulted in Rahul transforming thousands of people through his many initiatives. His work as a trainer, speaker and a writer has left a multitude of people inspired to craft a personal mission, chart a new path and carve out their own route to success that they cherish not just for themselves but for the community at large. Whichever way one looks at it, it's difficult not to be enamored by Rahul, his unique mission and his work. Rahul has an exquisite zest for life and it is this passion that inspires him to keep discovering newer ways of reaching out to the multitude. This recognition will serve as a catalyst to increase his circle of influence and spread his fervor with a larger community around the world. He lives many lives in one and makes each one of them count. Therefore it is only befitting to say that he has served humanity and his body of work stands testimony to the fact that serving them is his motto of life.

About the author

CSR VISION is India’s ( probably world’s ) first monthly magazine in print devoted to CSR and Sustainable Development for bringing together all stakeholders of SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT at a global and local levels and act as a platform for promoting strategic CSR and sustainable development practices through dissemination of information and knowledge.